Tom House: Tom Brady Threw Football Better Last Year Than He Has Last 3 or 4 Years
One factor that will be looked at with a microscope by NFL teams that want to pursue Tom Brady this offseason is how he played during the 2019 season. Since that was his most recent body of work, it will be used to project how the 42-year-old quarterback will play at age-43 and beyond.
This past season, Brady had his lowest touchdown total since 2006 (24) and his lowest completion percentage since 2013 (60.3). His quarterback rating is the lowest it has been since ESPN began recording that metric in 2006 (52.5), and he has his second-lowest passing yardage total since 2011 (4,057). PFF graded the six-time Super Bowl champion with a 79.0 overall grade in 2019, which was was good for 12th best among qualified QBs.
But despite one of his worst statistical seasons over the past decade, one long-time coach of Brady's believes he threw the football in 2019 "as well as he has any time in his career."
The MMQB's Albert Breer spoke with Brady's throwing coach, Tom House, who gave a ringing endorsement for Brady's ability to throw the football at 42 years old.
“With our metrics, and again I can’t share them 100 percent, I think Brady threw the ball better last year than he has the last three or four years. Now, the outcomes weren’t satisfactory, even to Tom. But by our metrics, he threw the ball as well last year as he has any time in his career."
The first thing that comes to mind when seeing what House had to say about Brady: What exactly are the metrics that House uses?
It's fair to say that Brady's stats don't reflect how he played last season. Because of his receivers' inability to create separation and get open, Brady had to frequently throw the ball away, which certainly affected his completion percentage. New England's red zone offense also struggled mightily last season, which is part of the reason why Brady had such a low touchdown total. But it's safe to say, at the very least, that there were a few throws over the course of this past season that Brady missed that he typically would have made in years past.
It's also worth noting that Brady won the NFL's MVP award in 2017 after a season in which he threw for 4,500 yards, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions, had a 66.3 completion percentage and a 73.2 QBR. And according to what House said, Brady threw the football better in 2019 than he did in that MVP season.
House's comments on Brady could just be a way for him to hype up the aging QB before he hits free agency. As a well-respected throwing coach, teams will likely take notice of his comments about a quarterback who is playing at an age and level that we've never seen in NFL history. So, any bit of information organizations can gather about Brady leading up to a meeting with him will surely be noted.
There's no doubt Brady will appreciate the kind words said by his throwing coach as he tries to create a bidding war between NFL teams for his services.
